Sidney Godolphin
Sidney Godolphin (?1606–1643), was an English poet, courtier, and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1628 and 1643. A Cavalier poet, he died fighting in the Royalist army in the English Civil War. Life Godolphin, the second son of Sir William Godolphin (1567-1613) of Godolphin, Cornwall, by his wife, Thomasin, was baptised on 15 January 1610. He was admitted as a commoner of Exeter College, Oxford, 25 June 1624, aged 18,'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Gilpin-Greenhaugh', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 569–599. Date accessed: 24 February 2011 remained there for three years, and afterwards entered one of the inns of court, and travelled abroad. He was elected Member of Parliament MP for Helston in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Godolphin was elected again as MP for Helston to the Short parliament in March 1640, and to the Long parliament in October 1640. He was known as an adherent of Strafford, and was one of the last royalist members to leave the house. When the civil war broke out, he made a final speech of warning, and left to raise a force in Cornwall. He joined the army commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton, which crossed the Tamar and advanced into Devon. Their declaration signed by Godolphin is in ‘Lismore Papers’. Godolphin, whose advice, according to Clarendon, was highly valued by the commanders in spite of his lack of military experience, was shot in a skirmish at Chagford. Godolphin was buried in the chancel of Okehampton Church on 10 February 1643. His will, dated 23 June 1642, containing a bequest of £200 to Thomas Hobbes. He gave some plate to Exeter College, Oxford. Haunting It is alleged that Godolphin's ghost haunts The Three Crowns Hotel in Chagford. He is said to stride the corridors in full uniform.Haunted Places. hauntedplaces.co.uk Writing Godolphin left several poems, which were never collected in a separate volume in his lifetime. "The Passion of Dido for Æneas", as it is incomparably expressed in the fourth book of Virgil,finished by Edmund Waller, was published in 1658 and 1679, and is in the fourth volume of Dryden's ‘Miscellany Poems’. Godolphin was one of ‘certain persons of quality’ whose translation of Pierre Corneille's The La Mort de Pompée was published in 1664. A song is in Ellis's ‘Specimens’, and one in the ‘Tixall Poetry’. Other poems in manuscript are in the Harleian MSS. (6917) and the Malone MSS. in the Bodleian Library. Commendatory verses by him are prefixed to Sandys's ‘Paraphrase’ (1638), and an ‘epitaph upon the Lady Rich’ is in John Gauden's ‘Funerals made Cordials’ (1658). His poems were collected and published by Oxford University Press in 1930, with a Preface by John Drinkwater.. Recognition His poetry was included in the New Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1950. Publications * The Poems of Sidney Godolphin (edited by William Dighton, with a Preface by John Drinkwater). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931.The Enchiridion, Psalms, Hymns, and Virtual Songs, David Goodall, Web, June 17, 2012. See also * List of British poets References * Notes External links ;Poems * Sidney Godolphin at Famous Poets and Poems. ;About * Sidney Godolphin in the Cambridge History of English and American Literature. Category:1610 births Category:1643 deaths Category:People from Breage, Cornwall Category:Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) Category:Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Category:Cavaliers Category:Ghosts Category:1640s births Category:1712 deaths Category:British Secretaries of State Category:Earls in the Peerage of England Category:Knights of the Garter Category:Lord High Treasurers Category:Lord-Lieutenants of Cornwall Category:People in Cornish history Category:Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) Category:Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Category:Members of the Privy Council of England Category:Pages of Honour Category:Secretaries of State for the Northern Department Category:17th-century poets Category:Cavalier poets Category:English poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets